A Last Goodbye
by millie-mione
Summary: What if someone knew the truth about Sirius,but was powerless to stop his fate? Will she be able to save herself and those she loves from theirs? Please be gentle, this is my first attempt at a short story. Characters are not mine.
1. Default Chapter

Dorlynda Pritchard sits alone at the ministry courthouse and watches as one of her dearest friends gets hauled off to jail. She can only mime the words 'I'm sorry' as she realizes that nothing that she says or does will help him. A thousand needles pierce her already breaking heart. She lowers her eyes and lets the tears fall. It wasn't supposed to end like this.

The darkness behind her closed eyes allows her a few minutes of reminiscence. She thinks painfully of the day that she gave Peter weapons to give to James and Lily to protect themselves against their nemesis, Lord Voldemort. She had the means to do it. She was from Oz. Her land was ancient and very powerful, in fact, it was one of the only all-magic lands left. With her position in its ministry, she couldn't spare the time to stand in battle with her friends;she thought that lending James and Lily the weapons was a fool-proof solution. In addition, leaving nothing to chance, she gave Peter the famous 'kiss of protection' that Glinda gave to her ancestor, Dorothy Gale. With this kiss, no one dared to harm a hair on Pettigrew's head while he delivered the weapons . She was a hundred percent positive that James and Lily were promised an indubitable victory with the help she sent them. Lord Voldemort shouldn't have stood one iota of a chance. She still can't believe that they're dead.

Her mind fast forwards to the moment that her spirit shattered into a thousand splinters as she listens to a diplomatic emissary tells her what has happened to the Potters two weeks later. It doesn't add up in her mind. Sirius didn't have the power to kill Peter; he could hurt him somewhat, but not kill him. Her kiss protected him as long as she lived, since she was the giver.

She confronts Minister Crouch several times about the situation before the sentencing. He refuses to hear her; he even goes so far as to forcibly remove her from his office, offering her a viciously snide reminder to keep to her business and to let him keep to his.

She opens her eyes to face reality. Sirius is going to spend his life in jail, while Peter was out there somewhere frolicking freely planning to start his life over somewhere else. She knew that this mess was all her fault. She trusted Peter, that damned traitor. She gave him everything he needed to............

" The court is dismissed," Minister Crouch says closing the session.

Her heart falls, and she stands trying to catch her breath. She looks upwardly at the ceiling and says 'forgive me.' Dorlynda lowers her eyes and lets them wander to the threshold where Sirius last stood before being dragged off to prison, and she tearily accepts that this is her last good-bye to her friend.


	2. Darkest Before Light

  
  
Dorlynda Pritchard panted desperately as she makes one last run to deliver a special

package to her daughter's adoptive parents. She knew that she risked endangering her daughter's

life as she did her own by being out in the open for people to recognize her. She hid away

shortly after the baby was born. She knew that the Common ministry wouldn't let her particip-

ate in the goings on of the war after her husband Kenneth died. He was one of the very few

people she loved since she left Kansas to return to England, next to her friends (the Marauders, Lily,

and the Longbottoms) and the few relatives that she could tolerate.

Her mother and father sent her there to live with squib relatives; because, a squib was an

unwelcomed visitor in the royal family of Oz. She lived there with Nanny Odele and Uncle Jesse.

Now the love hat they gave her was real love, love that was unconditional and non-judgemental.

They were folk of the land, regular salt of the earth. She wished that she had remained there with them

instead of returning home to England with her mum and dad. Kansas had magic schools. In fact, she

attended a magic preschool for magical children of squibs.Their main purpose was to indoctrinate these  
  
young witches and wizards to wizarding customs and traditions that may have been forgotten by their nonmagically  
  
inclined parents and ancestors. For many students who attended these kinds of schools, this was the case.  
  
This was so ;because, America was a much younger country than herglobal counterparts, and she was  
  
founded by witch-hating muggles (namely the Puritans). In these schools, they learned basic everyday spells, Latin, Greek, and

other important magical languages along with special herbal courses. Her favorite course was

beam balancing. It was a preparatory course for 'successful and confident broom flying'(as her principal had put it.) She

remembered getting her first broom as a graduation gift at the preschool. Her principal asked the

pupils to ride their bikes to the ceremony. At the end, she changed the bikes to brooms and let

them fly away. Dorlynda always grew teary recalling how proud her folks looked when they saw

her ascend into the starry night sky like a fully adult witch.

The night turned for the worst when Myrna and Gralon Pritchard came to get her

that same night. They showed up dressed in their majestic best and ordered Nanny and Uncle

Jesse about like servants. Dorlynda knew that they couldn't fight these rude people back, so she

tried to hex them, but when Nanny spotted her trying to raise her fingers, she nodded slowly

reminding her to mind her parents. Looking back, she wished that she had hexed them, maybe she

could've stayed in Little Falls,Kansas and been happy.

She hated coming to England with her parents. For one thing , neither of them ever ceased

reminding her of how important the family was. Her mother's harsh criticism of her basically spat on the tutelage that

Nanny gave her. She complained about how all of her other children were perfect, except for her sister

Maeve, who had a penchant for music and things that were either of an artistic or abstract nature.

Maeve was weak according to her mother, but she swore that she'd change all that one way or

another.

Then, just as she thought that things couldn't get any worse, she met her mother's favor-

ite sister of the other five she had, Aunt Vanessa. Aunt Vanessa had three perfect girls, who,

according to her mother were everything that she expected her estranged daughter to try and

become. Dorlynda found Andromeda to be okay, Narcissa,to be a total ice queen, and Bellatrix,

well,.. she was a total brute and bullying braggart. She hated the fact that she and Bellatrix were

entering Hogwarts together and were going to be pupils in the same year . She found her rescue

when the 'Sorting Hat' placed her into Gryffindor.

She shook her head and tried to bring her mind back to the task at hand. She was a block

away from her destination. Dorlynda ran to get there more quickly. Perhaps, luck smiled on her

today. Making this delivery was going to be easier than she thought. She turned the corner and

felt a burning jolt hit her in the center of her back. She fell forward yelling. When she turned to

see who hexed her,the only thing she saw were a well worn pair of black boots speeding away from  
  
her direction in hasty retreat.

Someone's hands reached outwardly and grabbed her carrying her inside. To her relief, the person

was her daughter'sadoptive father. His wife grabbed the package that she carried with her.

" Give these to.......," she said moaningly as the pain from the blast seared itself from her

back to her chest causing her to wince and cough up blood. She thrashed about trying to catch her

breath. Her lungs and her chest hurt very badly and felt as if they'd explode. In an instant, she

felt her limbs stiffen and her blood pressure rise to her head. When the painful surge of pressure

stopped,her nose, ears, and eyes released blood to show her body's desire to yield to finality.

Everything went dark, and she could no longer see anything around her. Suddenly, she felt

as if she were afloat. The sensation was so peaceful,.......so calm.There was nothing more to

worry about. Everything was alright. She drifted farther away from those she once knew. They

could do no more for her. All that she would ever need lay before her. She waved her last

goodbye to all those cruel and tormenting shadows that invaded her once very happy life.

A blinding flash of light sucked her into its center. When the light became more bearable,

she saw her Nanny Odele and her Uncle Jesse standing in the field where she used to play.

Without hesitation, she ran to their waiting arms.

" Oh-h-h-h," Mrs. Johnson screamed, folding her teary face into her husband's strong and

supportful embrace. She inhaled for about ten seconds and let out a scream that betrayed her

deep anguish at what had just happened.

" That's right, dear. Just let it out," Mr. Johnson said patting her heaving back." I knew that we'd have to tell Angelina the truth one day, but I never thought that it

would involve her mother dying like this. I always thought that Angelina would meet her mother

and hear the explanation for her adoption from 'her'. What will we tell our daughter?!" she cried

shrilly.

" The truth,dear. That we love her and that she has a special destiny to fulfill in the new

war, and why her destiny plays such a quintessential part in the future," he said calmly.

" I know that it's the right thing for us to do, but will she be ready to take her post when

the time comes?"

" Does she have any choice,Lillian?"" I guess not, Gilbert.""We should write the Weasleys immediately and send for her. We've no time to waste on

ourselves and coddling our fears about confronting the situation. It's time for us to get this all

sorted out now; the longer we wait, the more awkward and dangerous the situation becomes for

us and for Angelina," Mr. Johnson said with great sadness in his voice, not believing his own

coldness.

" I know, Gil'; I know," Mrs. Johnson answered with a whisper." Is it done, Bella?" a cold voice asked." Yes, my liege. Dorlynda is dead," she answered while sitting in a kneeling position

before Lord Voldemort.

"Good. Did you manage to see where she brought the slippers?"" Yes, my lord. It was 3145 Stribling Way in Devonshire," she said."Perfect. Everything is lining up according to plan. If I succeed based upon your inform-

ation, Bella. Then who knows? Maybe I'll consider your debt to me for the destruction of my

prophecy completely repaid. I will pay a visit to Stribling Way three nights from now. Go! If I

need you, I'll call for you," he said shooing her away with a sweeping gesture of his hand.

" Yes, my lord," she said and then hurried away like a beggar who'd been caught stealing. 


End file.
